[4][5][6] Wignall obtained an undergraduate degree in geology from Worcester College at the University of Oxford in 1985.
He then completed a PhD in Palaeoecology at the University of Birmingham in 1988, supervised by Anthony Hallam.
[2][10][11][12] He has published extensively on the importance of oceanic anoxia[2][13] and high temperatures[14][15] as kill mechanisms during this event.
He also has an interest in understanding the coincidence of supercontinents, large igneous provinces and mass extinction events in Earth history.
[20] Wignall has featured in several television programs, including BBC Horizon episode The Day The Earth Nearly Died.